Towards the end of last year, I was invited to be a keynote speaker at a cancer conference in Abu Dhabi and upon having the hotel booking confirmed by the organizers I knew had two other pertinent tasks to fulfil – ask my fellow coffee nerd, Naveed where to get good specialty coffee and pray that it was near the hotel. You’ll be happy to know, at least for me, that these two tasks were delightfully met as Naveed recommended Hermosoand my hotel was located about 8 minutes away by taxi.
So, on the last day before we headed back to Dubai, I popped over to Hermoso coffee roasters.
It was a bit quiet when I visited on a Sunday morning but I think that’s normal for a city Iike Abu Dhabi, which seems to come alive in the late afternoon/night. Another challenge I discovered with this city is that it is very spread out, unlike Dubai. In Dubai you can almost get to any good coffee spot or restaurant within a 15 minutes’ drive, so whilst Hermoso is located near to the Cornice area and some top hotels, many other spots were like about 30 minutes away, so not close at all to my hotel.
Pick one
Upon entering through the side of the café, you are met with a cove of coffee to choose from including merchandise, as you move further into the coffee shop towards your left, you will see their brew bar decked with a La Marzocco Strada for their espresso machine and a brew bar with lots of Hario V60s as well as other gadgets like their cold drip system.
I popped upstairs briefly to see their soon to be finished coffee brewing school, where they plan to host events in the future. I learnt too that they partner with coffee supremo Costas of Sweden who mentors them on their coffee roasting style and visits them occasionally to ensure quality – great. Their roastery section is in full display in the main area of the café, where they use American made Loring – I liked the idea of using the coffee tasting wheel as décor just above the roastery.
I was greeted by a bunch of friendly staff and a barista, Rico, hailing from Burma. After a few questions around their coffee offerings, he offered that I try one of their unique espresso blends for my flat white.
Flat white at Hermoso
After enjoying this, I walked around and took some shots and a video for my Instagram reel, see below
Rico kindly offered me, not one but two different cups of their cold brews to try.
I was of course tempted to buy coffee and opted for a Yemeni Hajjah Anaerobic coffee for filter brewing at home and one of their espresso blends, which I enjoyed later upon my return to Dubai.
So, if you visit AD and happen to stay near the Cornice area, where the tallest hotel in Abu Dhabi is, the Conrad, or the Grand Hyatt of the famous Mandarin Oriental Emirates Palace, as well as the Edition, which is next door, I encourage you to visit Hermoso for your specialty coffee fix, pick a few bags and have breakfast, lunch or dinner if you are hungry too.
Hermoso are located at 57 al Quffal Street in al Bateen.
Wow! wow! wow! I don’t even know where to start… BUT here we go.
First of all what is a munchie espresso?
It’s a Colombian Anaberoic honey processed, castillo varietal coffee, grown at 1,700m and produced by Andrés Quiceno and Julio Madrid on La Riviera Farm in Risaralda, Colombia, with a taste profile of…. wait for it…..
Pineapple . Coconut. New York Cheesecake. Hazelnut and Butter
Roasted by Pirates of Coffee in Toronto, Canada, part of their Loco (Spanish for crazy as in mad) series.
Now for the coffee geek part….
“The Honey Culturing, Anaerobic process involves using fermentation starters and the unique natural flavours that come from fruits and aromatic plants, allowing for new sensory profiles to be developed by mixed fermentations between the starters and traditional coffee fermentation processes.” source: Pirates of Coffee website
So, what anaerobic processing in coffee?
Anaerobic fermentation is a coffee processing method where coffee is fermented in pressurized sealed tanks deprived of oxygen. This lack of oxygen produces distinct acids, lactic acids for example, that create a different and distinct flavor profile for the coffee. (source: JBC roasters).
In short, every coffee goes through some sort of fermentation as soon as it is picked before it is dried “naturally” in the sun or “washed”. If a coffee is anaerobic natural, it is fermented in barrels with its skin on, but if it is washed, it is fermented in barrels without its skin on. Honey process has some skin on during the fermentation process. This means that the anaerobic method “affects” the natural process of fermentation by throwing the beans straight into a barrel without air for hours and sometimes days.
You may have seen “72 hour anaerobic process”. Now, sometimes these barrels may have dried fruit in them, which means the coffee absorbs those enzymes and taste profiles, which can be preserved and roasted delicately by an expert coffee roaster to enhance the taste.
sounds confusing ?
Yes it is a bit, BUT this type of method means that you can get some crazy types of coffee. So in short when this coffee was prepared it was not entirely unusual to get coconut, pineapple, etc coming through.
So, did I taste these ?
Yes! that’s why I’m writing about it. I never thought that it was possible, but in short, I definitely tasted coconut with milk based coffee like a flat white or cappuccino and picked up pineapple acidity too. There was a buttery mouthfeel which I guess resembles NY Cheesecake but I wouldn’t say that I picked up the vanilla and lemon zest notes typical of a classic chessecake.
Nevertheless, I won’t be forgetting this coffee anytime soon.
I first encountered it at the World of Coffee Dubai (see last post) when I was offered a piccolo at the Toga Coffee stand and even before I tasted it, the smell of coconut blew me away. I then knew that I had to buy this coffee and to my pleasant surprise I met the head roaster, Abbas, who guided me through their website , where I bought the last one – I’m truly blessed.
I brewed this coffee every day till it ran out and shared it with my wife and a friend so that they too could enjoy my experience – after all good things in life should be shared.
Well done to the coffee farmers, the coffee roaster for selecting and roasting this coffee like this and to all those involved in letting me enjoying this wonderful coffee.
YUMMY MUNCHIE.
If you live in the UAE, their coffees are offered at Toga in Sharjah and if you are in North America, definitely visit their website and order this and lots of wonderfully funky coffee they offer.
I recall a few years back, pre-pandemic, when I read that there were a few restaurants opening in Dubai on a weekly or perhaps a monthly basis. It seems the coffee shop entrepreneurs or what I like to call the coffeepreneurs didn’t want to be left behind…. Enter a new coffee concept, Q-LAB, located in Jumeriah.
Now to be honest, Q-Lab is not a new coffee shop as such but more a new concept born out of the company DXB Blends (DXB is the acronym for Dubai airport, just like you have LHR for London Heathrow Airport). In short, DXB blends have been around in Dubai for a few years, and I first heard of them when I moved to Dubai 3 years ago. I must confess, although I had only been once, I was never tempted to visit any of their shops until now, when I saw another Dubai coffee nerd duo post about them. Intrigued, I arranged for my friends and I to have our regular Saturday morning coffee meet up there.
The Q Lab seating area
In short, Q-Lab will be the new hub of DXB Blends, where their roastery will roast coffee and prepare blends for their other outlets, with a stronger focus on quality, so the coffee on offer at Q-Lab will be a higher specialty coffee offering. As you enter the coffee hub, there are lots of chairs, with the roastery on the right-hand side.
The roasters
As you walk further in, you will be greeted by a friendly Barista, Ace (I told him that with a name like that, he will have to ace it every time he brews coffee…pressure) – we chatted coffee for several minutes as I got there ahead of my friends. Ace has been working in coffee for over 5 years and hails from the Philippines, but he shared with me his desire to keep learning about coffee so that he can compete for the national barista championships and perhaps more. He even has a tattoo on his hand with the Hario V60 and coffee beans.
I love coffee tattoos
Pleased to see the Mod Bar, I opted for the espresso blend for my cortado as the description hinted of Brazil.
The Mod Bar
My friend, Naveed opted for an Ethiopian and got a beautifully poured unicorn latte art… hmmmm! I thought because this was Ace fave coffee.
Walking around, you will see their coffee on display in different sizes of the standard 250g and a smaller version at 100g. I think they do this because they have some expensive lots, and it might be easier on your pocket to try a 100g coffee. As I walked around, a Yemeni Lot 22100 with notes of cacao nibs, dried figs and vanilla caught my attention.
Yemeni coffee
So, after downing my cortado, followed with some conversation, I knew that I had to try this special coffee brewed on a Hario V60, who wouldn’t?
Delicious
I shared it with Naveed and it was definitely worth AED55 ($15) – their normal price for filter brews are AED30. I picked up dried fruits, hints of light cacao and vanilla spice, yum.
As we were leaving, the staff gave me a complementary 100g bag of a Colombian Anaerobic Java coffee, so kind.
Q Lab are located at 118 Al Hadiqa Rd – Al Safa – Al Safa 1 – Dubai.
I plan to revisit as they will soon be offering breakfast and lunch too.
About two weeks back a friend told me to check this new cafe out in Abu Dhabi and to be honest, I thought to myself “when am I going to go to Abu Dhabi next, let alone, a coffee shop there”. Literally the next day, I decided to take my wife al the way to Abu Dhabi airport, about an hour away from Dubai and guess what…. drum roll… the coffee shop he told me to check out was, can you believe it… 5 minutes drive away from the airport. It’s like God was saying “you’re going to that coffee shop”.
And here we are THINGS Specialty Coffee shop, owned by 2022 UAE Cup Tasters Champ and Q Grader, Sulaiman Khamis Alalawi and newly opened in March 2023. As you enter, there’s a filter brew bar to the right, together with sunglasses on display (the owner loves quirky sunglasses). The filter brew bar is decked with high chairs, a bar of course featuring filter brewing gear and low bar hanging lights. It’s like if you sit there, full attention will be given to you during the brewing process – a real specialty bar.
As you walk further in, you will notice the San Remo espresso machine on top an unusual looking brick style brew bar to your slight left. This is where the flat whites, cappuccinos, espresso are poured. There’s ample seating, more on the left hand side of the shop in a minimalist, fairly dark toned interior – I guess to promote intimacy with your cup of coffee and taste buds.
Place your orders next to brew bar and select your beans from top roasters as Things doesn’t have a dedicated roaster. When I visited, they had Vulcan from Qatar for espresso coffee and Glyph from Singapore for filter coffees – this is typical of Sulaiman, because if you follow him on Instagram, then you know he doesn’t follow convention BUT loves exploring. I guess he wants to give his clients a different experience and wants them to “drink like an escapist”.
After conversing with the head barista like a coffee geek, I ordered a cortado to start together with a delicious banana bread.
Smooth and well prepared.
My daughter ordered a mocha – hot chocolate with coffee and snapped away.
After we enjoyed the banana bread and our drinks, we were off for the filter brew bar experience.
And, this is where we spent most of our time. The barista was so helpful and loved brewing coffee that he made us two drinks. First was a special Central American coffee, roasted on their Roest small batch coffee roaster in the coffee shop, very clean and bright (as in acidity) as he described it. Served in these unusual glasses.
Second up, we had the Colombia Geisha natural processed coffee from Glyph, the guest roaster. It was more balanced in taste and not so bright and acidic but I must confess, having not eaten since breakfast, I couldn’t finish the coffee. Tasty though.
Indeed it was clean and bright – too bright for my daughter but refreshing in a sort of way.
In short, highly recommend not just for the coffee, but for the experience too and to top it off, really wonderful staff too, who couldn’t do enough for us and spoilt us. So, if you have to go to Abu Dhabi to catch a flight, I strongly recommend getting there earlier to stop over at Things and take your taste buds on a ride before you fly – doesn’t that rhyme ?
I had the opportunity to visit Vienna (where I lived for over 14 years) again late last year and was pleasantly surprised to witness a slight surge in specialty coffee offerings, so here’s a quick guide on my top 6 from December 2022 comprising of the new and the classic ones.
Kaffein (newish) Stoss im Himmel
Researching Instagram prior to my trip I came across this coffee shop that I had never heard off before, but I could easily be forgiven as they opened just before the 2020 pandemic. Cruising through their feed I was impressed as soon as I saw that they had modbars (geek alert) I wrote about this extensively here when I visited Bath in 2018. With two locations already, I visited the site at because it was the only one open over the Christmas period plus it was around the corner from where my family and I used to visit the English cinema, Artis.
As you enter, there’s a long corridor dotted with seating before you enter the brewing bar to your left, decked with two modbars and a filter brewing station. The decor is wood throughout with quirky bits.
I went twice, first by myself and my daughter joined, where I tried a natural Peru made by the Greek barista and a second time with my sister, where we had a French Pear tart, met the roaster and enjoyed cappuccinos too.
From my observation, everything is done in-house from roasting their coffee, selling bags (I bought a bag) and of course brewing it with keen attention to detail – including their food, which tends to be homemade non-meat pasta and more together with a strong affinity for French style cakes and tarts – so you can really escape here as although you might be in Vienna you will be served with specialty coffee and French and Italian inspired cuisine.
So why go? Great coffee, French inspired desserts and good friendly customer service.
Fenster Café (newish) Greichengasse – 1st district
Prior to my trip, my brother had shared their Instagram profile with me and of course I raised an eyebrow when their tagline said “the best coffee in the World” as I personally think that is very subjective, given brewing styles, roasting styles, customer base, etc. Located about 2 minutes’ walk from Schwedenplatz underground station (take the Rotenturm Strasse exit and then turn left and walk up the stairs) – Fenster Café is literally a hole in the wall coffee stop – there’s likely to be a queue mainly of Tourist, based on their marketing so prepare yourself.
They mainly focus on espresso-based coffee with some house specialities which feature flavourings – their most famous one is the Fensterccino, labelled as the most expensive coffee in Vienna at 9.5 Euros – why? because they pour latte art into a cappuccino in an ice cream cone – you’ve got to give it to them for marketing. I had a flat white to go.
So why go? Instagram pic fensterccino an to get a quici coffee on the go
Caffe Couture (classic), Freyung 1st district
Rushing around the centre of Vienna I found myself craving espresso-based milk coffee and went to where I know I wouldn’t be disappointed, Caffe Couture. I’ve written about them a few times as they were one of the very first specialty coffee shops in Vienna upon my return in 2012. I was pleasantly surprised to see George Brany himself – the owner and former Austrian latte art champion in 2011, as I know he has been behind the scenes for a long while. Not losing his touch I see, I ordered a flat white on their Synesso espresso machine.
So, why go? One of the first specialty coffee shops in Vienna, so they won’t disappoint – they also serve filter coffee and sell their coffee too.
Jonas Reindl (Classic fave) schonttenor
I’ve been here many times and I must confess although I was in Vienna for two weeks and lived very far from the centre I came here, not once, but thrice – great for meetings and also because they didn’t close during the Christmas break – opening even on Christmas day itself. They roast their own coffee, source exciting coffee, have a very non-Viennese setup think NYC or London, offering Anglo-Saxon inspired cakes too (Cheesecake, etc) plus it’s where the university and solopreneurs tend to hang out – so it has a kind of col vibe appealing a lot to the youth and older ones too – so don’t be shocked if you can’t find a seat.
About the coffee – it’s always good, brewed on a Victoria Arduino Black Eagle (the first in Vienna I think) – had a cortado the first time and a great filter the second time and a cappuccino the last time. I also bought coffee for my fellow coffee geek in Dubai and had to hold myself back from buying more.
So, why go? Lots of reasons, cool vibe, cakes and of course great coffee in Vienna prepared with detail
Balthasar (classic fave) Prater Strasse 2nd district next to nestroyplatz
Well, I couldn’t come to Vienna and not stop here. I actually went by twice but on the first occasion it was so packed I had to leave as I don’t like drinking my coffee standing up in the middle of a shop like a sour thumb. The second time I met a friend and we just found seats. He went for a cappuccino, and I had a filter brew poured by their filter brew maestro. Most of the barista expect one have left so I was pleased to have a brief chat with Owen but pleased to see that the place was buzzing.
So, why go? Coffee focused staff serving their own coffee that you can buy too. They also sell gadgets and filter accessories.
Offerl Bakery (newish) Wollzeile 31, 1st district
I actually happened to stop by this place as I was craving a snack to eat with my daughter. It is famous as a bakery offering a slightly different twist on their baked goods than the traditional Viennese versions, so expect English style doughnuts and French inspired quiche together with sandwiches.
Goat cheese mini quiche
There is a place to sit down inside along their concrete inspired décor with their open bakery on the left too. I tied their organic focused coffee, opting for a cortado, which satisfied my craving – more on the dark roasted bias but it did the job. They also sell their coffee.
So, why go? Grab great bread and pastries with a cup of coffee on the go.
One of the great things about being in a coffee enthusiastic city like Dubai is that there’s always something happening from opening new coffee shops with fantastic architectural design coupled with meeting new people in the coffee business that want to share their passion with you.
One such person was Vishnu of Al Saqr trading some I met over instagram in 2020 and in person when I moved to Dubai – credit to him for spotting me in a cafe way back in October 2020.
Vishnu on the left with Naveed
Fast forward to 2022 and Visnhu has managed to pursue one of his dreams within his company to set up a credible coffee importing specialty division called Harvest Belt. Their focus is to source traceable good quality lots of coffee to entice coffee conscious customers. In short they would love to work with cafes and restaurants who want to offer unusual and high quality coffees to their customers. This could be in parallel with them whereby you channel your desires in terms of getting a great bag of coffee from an unusual place that will make your customers go “wow!” can I have more of that.
So earlier this month Vishnu invited a few coffee experts from the Dubai coffee scene together with myself to visit their space, cup coffee and of course chat coffee.
Photo credit: FLTR magazine
Located in Dubai Investment Park, Harvest Belt is housed within one of many warehouses there, almost like a hole in the wall. With clean white spaces, it would also play the role of a no frills coffee shop decorated with coffee artefacts.
Classic Sample coffee roaster
The room is welcoming with their colours representing the continents that grow coffee. The harvest belt name itself is derived from the belt across the world of the coffee growing regions… clever eh!
So off to the coffees, where we cupped a wide range of newly harvested coffee from 2022 lots ranging from Ethiopia to Brazil , Guatemala and other Central American lots.
We cupped coffees roasted for both filter and espresso using their sample roaster BUT it’s important to highlight that Harvest Belt aren’t coffee roasters.. rather they source and sell coffee green beans.
An apt end to the year, enjoying coffee with friends in a coffee space.
Last month I had the pleasure of my palate and my inquisitiveness to visit London and naturally took the opportunity to visit as many cafes as I could, whilst visiting some tried and tested ones too in the process. Despite having scorching temperatures with the hottest day ever recorded in London at 40C, I wasn’t discouraged on drinking my coffee hot nevertheless. One proviso – I was in around the West End a lot, so most of these cafes are near Oxford Street. So here we go.
Omotesando, 8 Newman Street, off Oxford Street (new)
Famous in Japan and not with an outlet in London, Omotesando has a very Japanese minimalist design. As you enter you are greeted with their loge in a kind of lobby space before you turn right into the cafe, decorated with wood and clean lines, decked with a La Marzocco Strada espresso machine. The coffee is more on the darkly roasted style, so probably best with milk, which is what I had – a flat white.
Hints of chocolate and caramel if my taste buds memory serves me well.
Workshop, St Christopher’s Place, off Oxford Street (classic)
I’ve been here many times since they opened several years ago and on this very hot day – it was 38C, I knew I needed “hot” coffee after wandering the streets of London looking for a birthday card for my mum (hint: it is now very difficult to buy a physical birthday card in London). I opted for a filter cup using Ethiopian beans as I wanted something fruity to refuel my body before my search. To be honest the barista wasn’t very attentive – perhaps he was suffering from the heat but luckily I knew that the coffee would be roasted and their non-committed method – using the toddy, wouldn’t extract too much effort in preparing my delicious tasting coffee.
Blank Street, Charlotte Street, off Oxford Street (new)
A taste of Brooklyn, NYC in London is how I would start this report. In short, Blank Street are quite famous in New York and have landed in London in a big way, with plans to open a few shops – they have a few in London already and I later found out that my son’s friend works for them. I was drawn to the colours of the brand I must confess and upon entering and not spotting a manual espresso machine I was about to leave, when the very friendly barista offered to serve me. After sharing that I was thinking of not ordering because of my snobbish preference for manually brewed coffee, he convinced me to try an espresso on their unique automatic machine for FREE – how could I say no.
I must confess this is probably the best looking and tasting espresso I have had on an automatic machine. I’m guessing they manually pour their milk and they have a few healthy options on their menu to tempt the trendy healthy types to make this their main to-go.
Kaffeine, Great Titchfield Street, off Oxford Street (classic)
A classic mainstay on the London specialty coffee scene, Kaffeine won best European coffee shop during their honeymoon years. Nevertheless , they still serve Squaremile coffee and prepare coffee properly. Again. it was a very busy hot day – this was the 40C day and we no air conditioner in cafes in London generally, the staff were a bit frazzled, making me a bit nervous when I placed my order for a cortado.
Glad that the heat and the business of the cafe didn’t disappoint and I’m glad that I satisfied my coffee craving that day here.
Kiss the Hippo, Canal Square, near Kings Cross (new)
Moving away from the West End now as our daughter wanted to show us another “happening” enclave in London, Canal Square in Kings Cross is an enclave of restaurants, a food market serving exotic foods and the future home of FaceBook HQ, London. On our way to discovering, I spotted this little pop-up cafe and instantly noticed the name, which I have known for a few years now. I went for a cortado – it was 37C
Nice and creamy with hints of milk chocolate and recommended if you are visiting Kings Cross, which also has Caravan – see next post.
Caravan, Granary Square, (classic)
I must confess, I didn’t have coffee here as I had just had coffee at kiss the hippo but nevertheless having coffee here will not disappoint. They have a huge space which incorporates a roastery (the inspiration for many coffee shops in London and beyond) a full restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had brunch and then I went in to look around and bought two bags of coffee (see previous post for my experience ).
Highly recommended for specialty coffee and dining, plus they have a great online store (I ordered many times when I lived in Europe).
Lantana, 13 Charlotte Street, off Goodge Street and near Oxford Street (classic)
Another one of London’s mainstay in the speciality coffee scene but one I never visited due to logistical reasons. They are famous for their breakfast and brunches and of course Aussie style coffees. This was literally my last experience on speciality coffee in London on my trip. As it was a nice summer’s day, we sat outside but inside is very cosy and I can imagine queues forming on a cold and windy day, as I had initially wanted to come here for breakfast but that’s another story. I decided to order a coffee and cake.
I must confess I sent my first cortado back as I didn’t like the infusion between the milk and espresso, but the second one was worth the fussiness.
Kafi Cafe inside LUSH, Oxford Street (new)
I heard about this cafe when scrolling through HasBean instagram feed and was shocked to know that there was actually speciality coffee shop on Oxford Street itself (the rents are crazy). In short, HasBean is one of the most respected coffee roasters in England, haling from the very northern part, Huddersfield so I was excited to taste their coffees after several years (I used to order online several years ago). Located on the first floor of LUSH – a very smelly soap shop – you will be greeted at the top of the stirs with an array of coffee to your left and a lime green Black Eagle espresso machine. I ordered a cortado as usual (this is the main coffee I order if I’m craving milk based but want a higher proportion of coffee in the afternoon).
Nice cup of coffee using Ethiopian beans with hints of fruit and caramel. Kafi actually have a bigger shop located a few minutes away at 20 Cleveland Street. Highly recommended.
Grind at Soho, 19 Beak Street, off Carnaby Street (classic)
I’ve been here many times when I’ve been in the area craving specialty coffee and so this time was the same. Again I went for a cortado or as it a short cortado
The barista wasn’t the friendliest – I’m not sure if Brexit and the service based industry is doing well with grumpy baristi and n general service staff. I digress but back to the coffee. Yes it was nice and once the barista saw that I was enjoying it, she was a bit more receptive, asking what I thought. Luckily for me I prioritise substance over fluffiness.
In summary, you will be spoilt for choice when you visit London, which host tons of specialty coffee shops. They may not be the friendliest, as I have become accustomed to very friendly baristi customer service in cafes in Dubai but they will be passionate about preparing your cup of coffee – just don’t film them without permission nor expect to chat with them about the coffee and more.
I just got back from London and bought a few coffee bags from some London coffee roasters and first up on the filter was for Caravan Coffee Roasters. I selected a natural from Guatemala from their filter selection because I always find naturals more intriguing and especially more so from Central America, as naturals are quite rare from this part of the coffee growing world.
I brewed La Nueva Natural Guatemala on the Hario V60 as I have missed… yes, I had missed brewing coffee on a V60 for two weeks. Using a menu of
15.3 g freshly ground coffee on my Wilfa Grinder
94C on my fellow EKG kettle
First pour of 43ml
Wait for 40 seconds
Second pour all the way to 227ml of water
I decided to serve myself using a glass cup as opposed to a ceramic. I guess I thought I’d like to accentuate the sweetness of this cup as much as possible and yes I was comely taken aback.
My first sip just blew my taste buds away with the poignant sweetness, almost white sugar like, with hints of caramel. It was so sweet that I was just sitting down for a few seconds wandering if I had added something to the cup by mistake.
The bag mentions taste notes of brioche ( the classic sweet French bread, using lots of eggs and butter with sugar), flaked almonds and blueberry.
For me,
🔵 it was more like a sweeter berry (blueberries aren’t that sweet)
🔵 white sugar with hints of caramel 😋
On the second day, I served myself the coffee in a ceramic cup, and then the notes were more balanced, with cane type sugar and darker berries … perhaps blueberry 🫐
If you’re in the UK, I strongly encourage you to order this one of a kind sweet coffee (link above) as Caravan usually offer free delivery for orders over GBP20 and deliver very fast, based on when the UK was in the EU and I used to order to Vienna.
Well, the answer for me is YES… and perhaps I should add, only in Dubai.
Just last week, I was meeting a friend at the Galleria Mall in al Barsha, Dubai (the neighbourhood behind the Mall of the Emirates – the one with the ski slope) and upon entering I saw a coffee shop, La Gente.
La Gente Dubai
Always the sceptical coffee snob, I decided to pop my head in, where I saw a Synesso machine to my right, lots of roasted coffee in retail bags, coupled with their black and grey marble interior. On the left they have seating on high tables but they also have seats outside the coffee shop. I then walked further in and spotted this….
Probat 12kg
A Probat (think, Mercedes of coffee roasters and yes, it’s made in Germany). Impressed I promptly asked “do you actually roast coffee in this machine in this mall?” and they replied “yes sir”. So, I thought “I can’t really come in here, quiz them and not order coffee”. So as soon as my friend joined me, we went for it together with some cakes… blueberry, ummm!.
First up, they have a variety of coffee on order. For espresso, they had a Brazil, which my friend took and then I asked them for their house blend… Brazil, Ethiopia and Costa Rica… aha! now this might not seem exciting to you BUT for me it was, why ?
Lets rewind to 2008-2009 – this was the era of espresso blends – the time before single origin was even thought off for espresso.
so, fast forward to 2022 and the main reasons why I was excited by this blend is because this exact combination was indeed the flavour of the years back then, because you used
Brazil for body, crema and chocolate and nut
Costa Rica for acidity
Ethiopia for fruitiness
so, now guess what I ordered …
A cortado using their house blend of course, with some kind of seahorse on the latte art design.
Yes, it was flavourful as I got to sample a mirage of fruit, medium acidity and hints of almond and dark chocolate.
If I’m ever at that end of Dubai again, I’ll try their filter blend options, for which they were offering three options.. see below
La Gente brew bar
Apparently they have three branches, Galleria Mall, where I went, Eden House and Motorworks.
Always out for a scent (pun intended) of coffee adventure, I asked my fellow coffee geek, Naveed, for this favourite new coffee spots in Dubai and I was presented with two options, and I chose Coterra, located in Umm Ramool, near the airport and closet to me as I had run out of espresso coffee and needed coffee quick – and no, I’m not an addict – I just like or should I say, love coffee. I was even surprised that a coffee shop existed in this part of the bustling city that Dubai is and to be honest, had to check google maps twice to make sure I wasn’t headed in the wrong direction – confession … on my way there, I took the wrong turning.
So, upon arriving you are greeted with this Muriel of colours – in fact it reminds me of something you might find in another part of the World, like in South America. Okay, let’s go in.
Upon entering, it was like a hidden gem indeed. I was greeted with a brew bar to my right accompanied with a complimentary cup of Arabic coffee by, I presume the cafe manager and to my left I spotted not one but two Giesen coffee roasters covered in their brand colours of green of course – I hasten to add, Giesen is a fave with serious coffee roasters.
As I walked further into the cafe to take some pictures, I also noted what looked like a sensory lab… decked with a coffee tasting chart – the wheel of fortune for all coffee sensory nerds.
Already looking impressed, I noticed a gentleman walking up to me and I did this thing that my wife always rolls her eyes – yes, having travelled extensively in Africa, I try and spot accents as a way to connect with people and I instantly picked up head barista, Mickey’s, as being from Kenya. After exchanging greetings (Karibu is welcome in Swahili) adding that I had been to Kenya several times and to the famous Coffee Research Institite in Ruiru, just outside Nairobi, Mickey had this look that if I could read minds, could be summed up as “oh, this guy knows and loves coffee” , so he presented me with a few options for tasting their coffee over my two hour stay.
First up, was a Costa Rican coffee for my daily cortado. I must confess, I was highly skeptical as my previous memories of Costa Rican coffee is that they tend to be on the higher acidity side, not bad for filter but as an espresso, I didn’t really want to drink something that might remind me of orange juice and milk – the two just don’t mix, literally.
Looks good doesn’t it? My skepticism disappeared after the first sip, as my tongue was washed with subtle fruit with hints of caramel and berries, but not over bearing. Of course, I then quizzed Mickey about how he had brewed my coffee, to which he explained the process adopted using their Dalla Corte “zero barista” espresso machine. So, here’s a short diversion for the coffee geeks.
In summary, the espresso machine is built with a Digital Flow Regulation (DFR) using an exclusive and patented technology that allows you to digitally control the quantity of water whilst you extract an espresso – this is important because this is where aromas and flavours are developed. By being able to regulate the flow, you can vary acidity, sweetness and body according to the requests of your customers, leading them toward a new concept of tasting. For just one type of coffee variety, more tastings are possible, different from one another. (courtesy Dalla Corte)
So, what does that mean ? In short Mickey was able to manipulate the coffee and reduce the acidity whilst brewing my coffee, WOW! I love learning new stuff about coffee.
Before I left, I had an espresso on the house and an exquisite Colombian coffee, brewed on the Hario V60.
I was also lucky enough to meet with the pleasant owner, Mohamed, who gave me his card and explained the name behind the brand – CO for coffee and TERRA(latin for land), so “coffee land”. He also mentioned that his partner is from Nepal.
I left with two bags of coffee roasted for espresso, one, their Space Blend and the other, can you believe it? Costa Rican, roasted for espresso.
In short, if you are on the way to the airport and want a quick good tasting coffee before you fly, then make this your last stop. Otherwise, it isn’t that far from downtown Dubai – say 10 minutes drive. As of now I’m still enjoying their coffees.
Coterra are located at 18 9th street, Umm Ramool, Dubai – use google maps
From Coffee With Love 